From 87b030e1c62c74c75d7680f0f2de278ea11d4c9a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Mohit Agarwal Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2025 15:37:04 +0100 Subject: ++ [Olivia I Griffin] Philosophy --- studies/subjects/philosophy.md | 112 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 112 insertions(+) create mode 100644 studies/subjects/philosophy.md (limited to 'studies') diff --git a/studies/subjects/philosophy.md b/studies/subjects/philosophy.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2d580ec --- /dev/null +++ b/studies/subjects/philosophy.md @@ -0,0 +1,112 @@ +--- +title: Philosophy +date: May 2025 +--- +``` +Written by Olivia I Griffin Class of 2025 +``` + +## Assumptions + +### (Assumption no. 1) + +The less you know going into Philosophy, the better. Philosophy is not +the sort of course where your foreknowledge is as reliable and as easily +leaned-upon as History or English. It's more often the case that when we +read philosophers in high school or likened ourselves to Neitzsche or +Camus prematurely, we had the wrong ideas about what Philosophy is and +how to *read* Philosophy. + +### ((Assumption no. 2) + +Philosophy is a discipline unlike most others. Philosophy is about +asking questions, the right questions, and at the right time. You need +not know the answer, and in four years you might not find it. That's +okay. That's encouraged. And that's how you know you are after some good +Philosophy. + +## Premises + +### (Premise 1) + +There is no need to spend the summer before first year, or your free +time in first year, reading Russell's "History of Western Philosophy" or +anything of the sort. The department is structured such that the +sub-honors courses give you the exposure you need to do well in honors. + +### (Premise 2) + +Let go of your preconceptions of Philosophy. Philosophy in academia is +rigorous, and your essays will be marked based on structure, clarity, +argumentation, and thoroughness. Broad stroke claims and jabs at +existentialism or utilitarianism won't do. If you can corner a +philosopher using their own assertions against them, you are doing well. + +### (discharge assumption no. 1) + +### (Premise 3) + +Think small and read close. No one is expecting you to prove Kantian +ethics wrong. Point out inconsistencies, unfortunate outcomes, and gaps +in the literature. + +### (Premise 4) + +Don't ask a question and pretend to know the answer when you don't. Lots +of academics do this. You'll be reminded of this when you encounter a +paper or attend a talk with the word "what?" in the question (e.g., +"What's it like to be a bat?" from Nagel,^[Nagel, T., 1974, 'What Is It Like +to Be a Bat?', _The Philosophical Review_ **83(4)**: 435--50, +[available +online](https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Nagel_Bat.pdf).] +"What is Creative Resistance?" +from Torregrossa). You will mostly likely end up gesturing at the +answer, offering three potential options, or outlining a couple clear +non-options, but be up front about how much you *know* and how much you +can *assert with certainty.* + +### (discharge assumption no. 2) + +## Conclusions + +### (Conclusion 1) + +Go to office hours as often as you can. Get to know your professors. +This is a social discipline. The courses you choose in your honors years +will have one or two lecturers running the course. You want to +familiarize yourself with the people in the department to get the most +out of your years here. Additionally, go to the Philosophy Society. Take +any opportunity you can to articulate your ideas. Your peers are your +friends and your resources. They've read the same material as you, if +not more. They'll have helpful perspectives, and they'll find gaps in +your argument before you will. + +### (Conclusion 2) + +Write a dissertation in fourth year. It is not required, but writing in +long-form and taking time to craft an argument is what Philosophy is all +about. It's daunting to sit with one topic for a whole semester or a +whole academic year, but if you can manage that, you are a Philosopher. + +### (Conclusion 3) + +In discussion you have three options: you are either right, wrong, or +don't have the answer at all. All three are the same stepping-stone that +eventually leads to the right direction. If you know why Kripke's +*necessary a posterioris* fail, but you can't explain it clearly or you +can't precisify the outcomes of the failure (i.e., what does the failure +mean for the metaphysical standing of Hesperus and Phosphorus? or +Pierre's contradictory beliefs about London and Londres?), then you +might as well not know at all. Likewise, if you are wrong in your +defense of phenomenal properties, that's okay. A lot of people are. You +learn from being wrong just as you do from being right. Identify where +your reasoning went wrong and adjust. Philosophers are equal +opportunists when it comes to such matters. + +### (Conclusion 4) + +Read and write. Read papers, read your friends papers, read the extra +readings on the reading list. Go to talks other than your lectures. Ask +all your questions in every Q&A. Write them down. Write down the answers +that you get, think about them, write about them. Reading a book that's +not taught in the department? Ask yourself why its not taught. -- cgit v1.2.3